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Feb 17 12 tweets 5 min read Read on X
A thread of lesser-known architectural wonders that we lost over the ages (and what happened to them)... 🧵

1. Old London Bridge - the longest inhabited bridge in Europe Image
A 12th century marvel spanning 900 feet and lined with shops and houses. Considered a wonder of the world, it was a place of religious pilgrimage and royal pageantry.

It was only demolished in the 19th century in a dilapidated state, when a bridge with a wider road was needed. Image
2. The Round City of Baghdad, Iraq

Residence of the Abbasid caliphs and the de-facto center of Islamic world from 766 until its destruction by the Mongols in 1258 - thus ending the Islamic Golden Age. Image
It contained the largest medieval library in the Islamic World, the House of Wisdom.

When the Mongols sacked it, the Tigris river is said to have ran black with the ink of manuscripts tossed into the water - including some of the rarest Greco-Arabic texts in existence. Image
3. The Bologna Towers, Italy

The "Manhattan of the Middle Ages". In the 12th and 13th centuries, the city of Bologna had a skyline of around 200 towers - mostly around 25 meters but some as high as 100 meters. Image
We don't know exactly why they built them, but some may have been for defensive purposes. Over the centuries, they either collapsed or were demolished, although around 20 still stand today: Image
4. Great Pyramid N6, Sudan

Inspired by the Egyptians, Nubian monarchs built pyramidal tombs in the Nile valley between 800 BC and 300 AD.

Among the greatest was this, one of the Nubian Pyramids of Meroë, destroyed by notorious treasure-hunter Giuseppe Ferlini in the 1830s. Image
5. The Louvre Castle, Paris

This massive 12th century castle once stood in the center of Paris, built by King Philip II to reinforce the old city walls. It was demolished during the Renaissance to make way for the Louvre Palace - now home of the Louvre museum. Image
6. The Old Bank of England, London

Another of London's most significant lost buildings. Sir John Soane designed this labyrinth of neoclassical spaces in 1788. It was operational until the 1920s when was replaced by a larger structure. Image
7. Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Ukraine

Built near Kharkov in the Russian Empire (modern-day Ukraine) and pictured in 1894 shortly after completion. It was razed in the 1930s when thousands of churches were demolished by Stalin. Image
8. The Neue Elbbrücke Bridge, Hamburg

One of Europe's most glorious bridges - destroyed not by aerial bombs, but by urban planning zealots.

The original was completed in 1887 and featured two beautiful neo-Gothic gateways. It was torn down in 1959 to add an additional lane. Image
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More from @Culture_Crit

Feb 15
The Pyramids of Giza are enigmas that may never be solved.

We've found thousands of hieroglyphs across Egypt - not one mentions how they were built or how the ancients cut stone.

10 facts that will blow your mind (thread) 👇 Image
1. Only a small handful of Ancient Egyptian texts have been found that mention the pyramids at all. The best we have on their construction are these papyrus fragments, discovered in 2013, which mention the delivery of limestone blocks via the Nile River. Image
2. The pyramids themselves do not contain a single hieroglyph - nor were any paintings, burial treasures or mummies found within. By contrast, the tombs at the Valley of the Kings are decorated with intricate hieroglyphic texts and artworks from floor to ceiling. Image
Read 13 tweets
Feb 14
Reminder: this is what subways look like in Russia.

The most beautiful subway stations around the world (thread): 🧵

1. Mayakovskaya, Moscow (1938) Image
2. Komsomolskaya, Moscow (1952)

Moscow's metro could easily fill an entire thread. Subways can and should have chandeliers and Baroque friezes. Image
3. City Hall Station, New York (1904)

America could have had a beautiful subway. This station, with stunning vaulted ceilings, tiled arches and skylights, was abandoned 40 years after opening. Image
Read 12 tweets
Feb 13
This is a hotel in Mexico City.

Here's why it's aptly named the "City of Palaces"... 🧵 Image
When geographer Alexander von Humboldt visited from Germany in the early 1800s, he christened it the "City of Palaces".

He even sent a letter home saying Mexico City could rival any major city in Europe. Image
He saw an enviable number of ornate palaces, partly due to an explosion of Neoclassical and Baroque residences built by wealthy Spanish nobles in the 18th century. Image
Read 15 tweets
Feb 12
Gothic architecture made infinity imaginable.

10 marvels of Gothic design, from medieval cathedrals to modern skyscrapers (thread) 🧵 Image
1. Ely Cathedral, England (11th - 14th century)

Its wooden, octagonal "lantern" is said to be the world's only true Gothic dome. It was built after the original tower collapsed in 1322. Image
2. The Hungarian Parliament Building, Budapest (1904)

The other notable (neo) Gothic dome is that of Budapest's mighty parliament building. Built over a century ago, it remains the largest building in Hungary, looming over the Danube. Image
Read 13 tweets
Feb 10
This is what great European cities looked like a century ago... (thread) 🧵

1. London (1930s)
...and Westminster bridge in 1896
2. Paris (1902)
Read 12 tweets
Feb 9
A thread of 21st century architectural revivals that will restore your faith in humanity: 🧵

1. Frauenkirche, Dresden, Germany Image
Dresden's German Baroque gem was destroyed by Allied bombings in 1945. Using the original bricks (left in rubble since the war), it was rebuilt as close to the original as possible. It reopened in 2005. Image
2. Kossuth Square, Budapest, Hungary

Budapest is erasing the brutalist blight from its communist past. This building at Kossuth Square has been restored according to its original plans from the 1920s. There are many such examples around the city. Image
Read 11 tweets

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